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AppaiRition to the Shepherds 



B. Plockhorst 



"// was she who saidy 

*Fear not,'' and I looked up and 

did not fear. " 



^ftgel 



Father 



of ^it^k^cm €own 

SCENE ONE 

Night on the hills above Bethlehem, Three 
shepherds are in a group; a fourth sits apart, 
father of the little lad who sits near him with 
one arm around a shaggy sheep-dog. : : : : : : 

eoME closer, lad. I like to feel 
you near. 
My little David— little moth- 
erless lamb — 
But six tonight, and she a year in 

heaven ! 
How near the stars are, father. Do ^■'''"' 

you think 
My mother can look down and see 

us here? 
Perhaps — it may be so — I cannot 
tell. 



Father 



<)fm 2 "t^ %{USt M^ of ^^^m t«*m 



Datid 



Fathkk 



Fathxk 



David 



And speak to us, because it is my 

birthday ? 
I do not think so. She would surely 

speak 
Seeing how sad we are with her away. 
David ^^j^^t does shc do In heaven? 

Praise God, and go His errands to 

and fro. 
O then she might perchance be sent 

this way, 
And we could see her as she passed 

along. 
Dost think my mother could forget 

to love us. 
Having so many joys in God's great 

heaven ? 
Not so! O never so! ^ yet the Rabbis 
Say it may be the soul goes back to 

God, 



Fathxr 



©CU 1971 45 



Cpe ^m ^}> of Qg^ef ^ee^em torn 



As the drop to the ocean,when the clay 
That held it crumbles to its native 

dust. 
My mother was not clay— 

What then, dear lad ? 
I cannot tell. Some soft, sweet, shin- 
ing stuiF 
That makes the flowers, and bird 

songs, and the sunshine — 
What are God's errands, father ? Do 

His angels 
Feed the wild birds, and paint the 

sunset clouds. 
And lead the stars out in a shining 

flock- 
And shake the dew down on the grass 

at night. 
And fill the little brooks brim full 



of 



ram 



1 



C^e $xt(U M of (g>c^lJCf$em totm 



Fatkex 



David 



For all the thirsty sheep to come and 

drink? 
It might be so. We know they do 

His will 
But no eye sees them as they come 

and go — 
How light it grows I almost as if the 

dawn 
Already had begun — 
Look, father! See the glory in the 

sky, 
As ifa door were opened into heaven! 
O look! look! 



€^t %xiiU Bab of ^d^i^m Cotton i ^^t 



SCENE TWO 

As the splendor deepens the shepherds fall on 
their faces and the lad stands gazing upward, 
silenty but not afraid. The voice cries, *^Fear 
not,** and tells of the wondrous birth, and the 
vision of angels sweeps by with the song of praise. 
The shepherds slowly rise and look at each other. 



^^^ou heard it? you and you? and 

\ I I saw the angels? 

^^ Surely no mortal eyes have 

seen such things 
Since Jacob slept at Bethel — 
Or such a song rang out since first 

the stars 
Together sang above a nev^-born 

v^orld. 
Come, let us go to Bethlehem, that 

our eyes 
May see ^^^^ Hope of Israel, born today, 
And spread the tidings. 



First 
Shephekd 



SrcoND 
Shkpherd 



t^ %\itU M of ^tt^^m torn 



Fatreb 



First 
Shephkkd 



David 



First 
Shepherd 



David 



Second 
Shepherd 



David 



Father 



But here's the lad, my David— 
Leave him: he'll sleep; the dog will 

guard him well. 
O father! take me with you — 
Or let him stay with Joseph in the lodge 
Down by the olive garden. 
Father, dear I I will not hinder; I 

will run so fast. 
We'll soon be back; nothing can 

harm you, lad. 
Father, you promised. 'Twas my 

birthday treat. 
To watch all night upon the hills 

with you. 
Well, come; and if you tire I'll 

carry you. 
You are no heavier than a yearling 

lamb; 
I've often borne one further. 



€^i M(2t M of ^d^^m torn 



gjoseT 



( On the way — the lad in his father s 
arms.) 

Father, I saw her. It was she who said, 
"Fear not," and I looked up and 

did not fear. 
You said she went God's errands; 

might it be 
That she was sent to bring the little 

Christ 
Down to his mother in the Bethlehem 

town? 
Dear lad — 
She'd bear him well. Her hands are 

strong and soft. 
And when she strokes your cheek, or 

holds you close 
Against her breast — 
O David! hush, my lad; you break 

my heart. 



David 



Father 
David 



Father 



(J>»S»8 



Z^ %iii!U M of g^^Pel^ Cotim 



David 



SCENE THREE 

In the stable: The shepherds kneeling in awe 
and wonder while one tells the story of the vision 
to 'Joseph, Mary, seeing the little lad*s wistful 
face, puts out her hand and draws him close to 
her. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 



% 



e's such a little Christ — no 

bigger than 
The babe my mother took 
with her to heaven. 
Didst see the angel that brought the 

little Christ? 
That was my mother — for my father 

says 
She goes upon God's errands to and 

fro. 
I think she surely brought him, for 

tonight 
Upon the hills she came to tell us of 
him. 



C^e Mii^ ^b of ^d^it^m Co«m 



I saw her in a glory like the sun; 
She said: " Fear not," and all the an- 
gels sang. 
Upon the hills? 

Yes, where we watched the sheep. 
You heard the angels, lad ? What did I 

they sing? 
I cannot tell. I only saw my 

mother, 
And tried to keep her words fast in 

my heart. 
She said, " Good tidings of great joy," 

and then 
She smiled at me, the way she used to 

smile 
When she had kissed me in my bed at 

night. 
And I would shut my eyes so I might 

think 



Maky 

! David 
Mary 

David 



^(Je Bi^fe Ba^ of (gd^ii^ torn 



Mary 



David 



Mary 



She was still there, close by me in the 
dark. 

'T is not so strange. I, too, have seen 
an angel; 

He spoke to me, and told me won- 
drous things. 

May I touch him, the little baby 
Christ? 

Yes, kiss his hand; see how the tiny 
fingers 

Cling around mine, like little perch- 
ing birds. 

So dear — so sweet — and yet my very 
own — 

Almost I w4sh that he were born like 
you 

A shepherd lad, to lead the harmless 
sheep, 

Sol mightfold him in my arms ^smile 



€^c ^Me ^i of ij§t(^^m torn 



Without a thought of Herod. Now 
my fear, 

An icy wind, blows through my new- 
born joy 

And chills it to the death, and makes 
me tremble. 

Yet God is strong— I will not be 
afraid — 

Sleep on, my little son. He'll keep 
you safe, 

He'll give His angels charge con- 
cerning you. 

[Mary draws the babe to her bosom 
and sings to him softly.) 

My soul doth magnify the Lord, for 
behold from henceforth all gener- 
ations shall call me blessed — 
[The shepherds go out in silence,) 



(^flei2 Z^t $!Mi M of ^d^ii^m Cot^n 

SCENE FOUR 

The shepherds linger a little in the courtyard 
of the inn, where groups of people are encamped 
and a fire burning, David, holding his father* s 
hand, looks at the strange night-scene with won- 
dering eyes, : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 

fathm /Hj^p^HE dawn is near; we should be 
^/ on our way. 

^^ The sheep will soon be calling 
from the fold. 
The sheep! Well, let them call,— 

there's higher work 
For us tonight than watching by a 

sheep-fold. 
We must go spread the tidings of the 

Christ. 
The town is full, and both the inns 

Older 9 n * 

«""> o ernowing, 

And Roman soldiers here to speed 
the taxing. 



First 

SHXrHKKD 



Third 
Shepherd 

(An older 



€^t Miit ^b of Q^ef^fe^em Zo^n 9^^ 



If word were sent to Herod that a King 

Was born to Israel, and the Bethle- 
hem town 

In a wild tumult, needs no prophet's 
tongue 

To say what would befall. Let us go 
homeward, 

And praise God as we go. 

Aye, you are wise. 

God set me to keep sheep, but oft at 
night 

I speak with Him, as once King 
David did, 

A little shepherd lad on these same 
hills. 

I think He cares for all weak, help- 
less things 

His hand has made, and so I must 
believe 



Father 



C$e BMe BAt> of c^ti^tt^ torn 



Third 

Shepherd 

(muting) 



That I can please Him best by doing 

well 
The work He gave me, while I sing 

His praise. 
A babe — a babe — and I am nigh 

fourscore. 
When he is grown I shall sleep with 

my fathers, 
And shall not see his triumph, if in- 
deed 
This be the Hope of Israel, the 

Messiah. 
Well — God be praised for what my 

eyes have seen. 

( Shepherds sing as they go a temple- 
song: Psalm 12.) 

He shall have dominion also from 
sea to sea, and from the river un- 
to the ends of the earth. 



Z^ %iiiU ^b of ^ti^^m ^m W15 



Yea, all kings shall fall down before 

him: all nations shall serve him. 
His name shall endure for ever: his 

name shall be continued as long 

as the sun: and men shall be 

blessed in him: all nations shall 

call him blessed. 
Blessed be the Lord God, the God of 

Israel, who only doeth wondrous 

things. 
And blessed be his glorious name for 

ever: and let the whole earth be 

filled with his glory — 
"All nations," that is what the angel 

said — 
"Good tidings to all people," and 

"great joy," 
And then she smiled, and went again 

to God. 



[half aileep 
nurmurt) 



Here endeth The Little Lad 
OF Bethlehem Town, being one 
more story of that miraculous 
time when a star shone to mark 
the way to a stable. Told by 
Emily Huntington Miller, who 
is already known as the writer 
of From Avalon, For the Beloved, 
Songs from the West, An Eastern 
Vision and others. Illustrated from 
paintings of Lerolle and Plock- 
horst. Published by Paul Elder & 
Company and seen through their 
Tomoye Press by John Henry 
Nash in the City of San Francisco 
during the month of June and 
year Nineteen Hundred & Eleven 

Copyright, 1911 

by Paul Elder and Company 

San Francisco 



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